Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Gathering Storm

"This house [the Senate] is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of order, and of liberty; it is here—it is here in this exalted refuge—here, if anywhere, will be resistance made to the storms of political frenzy and the silent arts of corruption.  And if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor."

Aaron Burr


"Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is a pious, hollow hypocrisy."

Luke 12:1


“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees— hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which appear beautiful, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. You outwardly appear righteous, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

Matthew 23:27-28

Stocks failed to rally today, and gave it up to support a level below.

It dropped, but did not break, yet.

FOMC meeting next week, and the Impeachment trial continues.

The spokesmodels have assigned the blame to the spreading coronavirus from China.

I think we have a bad case of bubble-itis.  And it definitely has its fans and cheerleaders.

The dollar and gold and the vix caught a safe havens bid.

The comi-tragedy in the Senate continues to unravel.

Perhaps someone can write a book about it: Profiles in Cravenness.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Davos Man - Breathless In a Field of Karma

"One of the common failings among honorable people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them."

Thomas Sowell


"A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to passions and coarse pleasures.”

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


“What shall I say about this generation?  John the Baptist did not drink wine, and often went without food, and you called him mad.  And I, the Messiah, both eat and drink, and you say that I am a glutton and a drunk, and am friends with the worst sort of sinners. The truth of you will be known by your works."

Matt 11:16-19

Stocks finally managed to rally into the close, led largely by the narrowing advance of big tech.

This is starting to resemble the peak of the tech stock bubble. It is a rally to nowhere.

The Dollar also finished higher.

Gold gave up some of its gains but managed to close in the green. Silver gave up a little.

Both metals are coiling within a range, and may keep doing so into the FOMC and Comex option expiration next week.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - I See It Coming - And It Is Going to Leave a Mark

"Every insurance product created by the financial system—whether that be a sovereign bond, a fiduciary currency, a futures contract, a credit default swap, etc.—has counterparty risk.   Since all major financial institutions are nowadays connected, risk contagion is guaranteed.   An insurance against the financial system is, therefore, ideally to be found outside the financial system, namely, in gold."

Jan Nieuwenhujs

Stocks took a crack at rallying again, and failed.  Although they did manage to hang on to the opening.

Gold and silver were up slightly, while the Dollar was down slightly.

This is going to end badly.

Big changes are coming. What has been hidden will be revealed.

Rough seas ahead, mateys.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - In Time of Plague

"...The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead."

W. B. Yeats, Leda and the Swan


"Beauty is but a flower
Which wrinkles will devour;
Brightness falls from the air;
Queens have died young and fair;
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us."

Thomas Nashe, A Litany In Time of Plague

Stocks came in weakly from the overnight trade, but found a bit of a toehold in the NY trading.

They managed to finish off nearly unchanged, but are looking tired and overbought.

The blame for this weakness was assigned by the spokesmodels to the appearance of the new Wuhan China viruswhich has made its first appearance in the US.

The cause is a virus. But it is a virus that has been growing and festering in the US for decades.  It is a virus of the mind and the heart, and if unresolved a sickness unto death.

Gold and silver finished off a bit along with the Dollar.

Gold was once again quite strong in the overnight trade, but was sold down again in the early hours of NY trading.

After the bell Netflix was off on a weaker than expected forecast for the first quarter.

What will break the bubble this time?   We are so forgetful, so faithless.

Have a pleasant evening.